


Moving On Up

by Moontyger



Category: Batgirl (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-16
Updated: 2013-08-16
Packaged: 2017-12-23 17:33:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/929217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moontyger/pseuds/Moontyger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was the cape that gave him away.  The flap of the heavy Kevlar as it settled was instantly recognizable - nothing else sounded quite like that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moving On Up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [amathela](https://archiveofourown.org/users/amathela/gifts).



> Thanks to Tim for the beta!

She heard him before she saw him. Surprisingly – at least, given the height from which he'd just dropped, it was surprising – the boots hitting concrete barely made a sound. Or maybe it was just lost beneath the sounds of the fight. 

It was the cape that gave him away. The flap of the heavy Kevlar as it settled was instantly recognizable - nothing else sounded quite like that. It brought up memories, good and bad. Most of them seemed to involve someone, somewhere, saying she wasn't good enough.

Which probably explained her response. “I didn't ask for backup.”

“I know.” No argument, but he wasn't leaving either. Her next punch was a little harder than the last, but she wasn't the same girl she once was. She wasn't Cass either, not even close, but this Batgirl still wasn't going to waste her breath arguing.

At least, not until the bad guys were down and packaged, ready for police pickup. Priorities and all that. She'd been getting better about that sort of thing; Oracle insisted on it.

She tilted her head back and looked up into the cowl. _Probably_ into his eyes, but it was hard to be sure. “Something I can do for you?” She gave it a bit of a flirtatious lilt, a hint of Mae West, because why not? Plus she was still a little annoyed. She totally had those gang members handled.

Of course, this Batman wasn't Bruce. This one was different, and instead of ignoring it or shutting her down, he grinned. “Actually, yes. You didn't ask for backup; I am.”

Oh. Well, that was unexpected. “Where's Robin?”

“Busy.”

Stephanie wondered what exactly kept a psychopathic ten-year-old busy, but she didn't ask. Hey, she was learning: sometimes she actually remembered _not_ to ask the questions she didn't really want answers to.

She shifted her weight, stance changing from 'ready to fight' to something more relaxed. “All right. What's up?”

“Us,” he replied, looking out at their rooftop view with just a hint of a smirk, but he was back to business so fast she almost thought she'd imagined it. “That gang you were taking out isn't working on their own. There's someone behind them and you're going to help me find out who.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a puzzled look. “You need help for the sneaky detective stuff? Because that's not really my strong suit.” Which didn't mean she shouldn't get better at it, of course, but Stephanie hated looking stupid in front of Batman (or any of the Bats, really, but especially Batman, no matter who wore the cowl).

“No.” He still looked more amused than angry. That was going to take some getting used to. “I need some help with punching people to get answers.”

“Now _that_ I can do.”

* * *

By the time they were done, she was beginning to wish she hadn't been quite so eager. She was also beginning to see what Barbara had meant about the bat making you a target. The higher up the chain they went, the harder people hit back. They fought like people with something to prove and she should know.

Stephanie sighed and shook out her hands, then moved her wrists in careful circles. Her fingers were tingling – always a sign that it had been a busy night. “I think my bruises have bruises.”

“You get used to it.” Batman laughed – and that was something she'd _never_ get used to, whatever he said – and rested one hand on her shoulder. “Good work tonight.”

“Thanks.” They stood there, like some kind of posed tableau against the sky that was just starting to lighten, until it began to feel awkward. He dropped his hand and just looked at her and she tried not to squirm.

“I went a little too hard on you earlier.”

“You mean when you told O to 'rein me in'?” 

He didn't confirm or deny, but he didn't have to. They both knew she'd heard him. “I'd like to make it up to you.”

And that was unexpected, too, but that didn't make it unwelcome. “What did you have in mind?”

* * *

The new cave wasn't all that cave-like, actually; it had more of a warehouse sort of vibe to it. Stephanie wasn't sure how she felt about that. The Bats had the whole theme going on and the cave fit right in. This, not so much.

But the mats in the workout area were familiar, as was the chill in the air. This place didn't have the excuse for the cold that the real cave did, but she was still shivering waiting there in just a tank top and yoga pants.

 _When he said he wanted to make it up to me, this wasn't what I had in mind._ But she should have been prepared for it. No matter who else he was, he was Batman now and Batman thought more training was a great reward for just about anything. “Couldn't he just buy me chocolates or something? Maybe an apology card?” But she said it under her breath and it was lucky she did, because of course that's when he showed up.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Stephanie looked up and every thought in her head vanished. She'd seen Dick before, of course. She knew what he looked like, or thought she did. But she'd rarely seen him out of costume and she'd never given much thought to what he'd wear to work out. She should have been prepared for this, too, but it simply hadn't occurred to her. Sure, what he was wearing wasn't that different from what Bruce wore when they'd done training out of costume, but somehow it looked entirely different on him. _Damn, he's pretty. And I think I'm in trouble._

“Stephanie?”

“Sorry, nothing.” She forced a laugh and said the first thing that came into her head. “Damian isn't going to be watching this, is he?”

“Not this time, at least. I thought you'd be more comfortable without a peanut gallery.” From the dryness of his tone, Stephanie couldn't help suspecting that Dick was more comfortable without it, too.

Even without a pint-sized and overly critical audience, it only took one kick for Stephanie to realize she'd better keep her head in the game. By now, she'd trained with a number of people - Tim, Black Canary, Cass, Bruce, Barbara – and their styles were all different. But none of them were much like Dick's. He had a style all his own and it was hard to adjust. Sure, maybe she was a little _too_ single at the moment, but she couldn't afford to be distracted.

Just thinking that was enough to earn her a kick to the chin that snapped her head back, though she managed to divert some of it by turning it into a back handspring. _At least he doesn't hit as hard as the last Batman._ And at least she had the sense not to say that, because she was pretty sure if she mentioned it, he might.

By the time they were done, she was covered in sweat and the racing of her heart had nothing to do with how Dick looked in shorts. Nothing – well, maybe only a little – to do with his equally sweaty hand on her shoulder again either. _He likes to touch, doesn't he?_

“Good work. Next time, we'll work on detective skills.”

“Can't we just do this again?” Stephanie remembered working on those when she was Robin – working on them and mostly failing.

“You can't always rely on a right hook and a good one-liner. Trust me, I know. And you shouldn't depend on Oracle to always be around to do the work for you.”

Which was pretty much what she'd been doing so far. _Ouch._ She didn't ask him how he knew; it was kind of his job to know things like that. “All right.”

“Don't look so depressed.” Dick wandered off to get a towel and tossed her one as well. “We all have to start somewhere.”

“Right.” With this in mind, the words were out before she could stop herself. “You don't happen to like college parties, do you?” Not that she'd been to one yet that hadn't turned into some kind of occasion for Batgirl, but that was all the more reason to invite him.

He looked surprised, but not angry or disgusted, which was already better than she'd been half-expecting. But just as he opened his mouth to answer, she heard a different voice: high-pitched still, but heavy with anger and not-actually-suppressed loathing. “What's _she_ doing here?”

Stephanie looked away from Dick in a hurry, though it wasn't like they'd been caught doing anything. “Don't worry, twerp. I was just leaving.” She headed toward the corner where she'd left her gym bag and grabbed it, starting for the door in almost the same motion. If Damian was back, she'd already overstayed her welcome.

Despite the ill-timed interruption, Stephanie found she was in a good mood as she made her way home. The rare Gotham winter sun helped with that, of course, but it wasn't nearly all of it. He hadn't told her she couldn't cut it; he hadn't said no, and he'd mentioned a next time. Things were looking up.


End file.
